Alpha Rev singer happy with band's lineup

Alpha Rev's music is so instantly catchy and melodic that it's a bit of a surprise that the Austin, Texas, quartet is just now beginning to break through to the general public.

By VINCENT HARRISFor the Herald-Journal

Alpha Rev's music is so instantly catchy and melodic that it's a bit of a surprise that the Austin, Texas, quartet is just now beginning to break through to the general public.The band, led by singer-guitarist Casey McPherson, formed in 2005 after the demise of McPherson's previous band, Endochine. The group quickly developed an infectious alternative-rock sound but went through a dizzying series of personnel changes, with only McPherson and guitarist Zak Loy remaining from the original group.Alpha Rev signed with Hollywood Records in 2007 and released its debut album, “New Morning,” in 2010, scoring two Billboard Hot 100 singles with the album's title track and “Phoenix Burn.”When it came time to record the follow-up, the just-released “Bloom,” the band made an interesting decision.“The album was recorded in a few different ways,” McPherson said. “We did some typical tracking where you start from scratch and build the song track by track, but a lot of the songs were recorded live. We had drums, bass, guitar, vocals and keyboards all done at the same time, like they used to do, without a click track and without cutting and pasting. The idea behind that was to focus on the song itself, and not the process of recording.”McPherson said he had to adjust the way he worked when the band decided to record live.“It was a challenge for me because I'm used to being kind of a perfectionist about the vocals,” he said. “You do eight takes and you get the best of each take and fix it when you might be out of tune. And this time around, it wasn't about whether or not everything was perfect; it was about if it felt right. I think the whole process freed me up. Instead of being micro-focused on whether or not something was technically good, I could be macro-focused on whether it felt right.”The singer also learned a lot about the current lineup of Alpha Rev: “I learned that they were better than I thought they were,” McPherson said with a laugh. “We did this thing where whoever had the least amount of flubs won $100. And it was between the bassist and the drummer for who had the least, and I had the most. These are some of the best musicians I've ever played with in my life. It's a great lineup, and I hope I can keep it as long as possible.”Most importantly, the songs on Alpha Rev's new album became paramount, as opposed to the process of recording.“I didn't feel the need to overanalyze the tracks,” McPherson said. “What it did for me as a musician is help me focus on what's important instead of trying to be perfect. I feel like I've evolved as a songwriter. I'm trying to learn to enjoy writing about all of life, and not the dark times.

“It's so much easier to write about when bad stuff happens, but that's not all of life. I think I'm trying to figure out how to express joy and happiness without being cheesy. I think you have to be really honest, and that's the journey I'm on right now.”

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